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Originally Posted by Muttflea
Sugarcatmom - Nanuk prefers the canned food, which he gets daily.
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That's great that Nanuk eats canned, much better than dry.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Muttflea
On the advice of our vet, I was mixing in a little (1/4 tsp) mineral oil into his food every other day or two, but I wonder now if this is such a good idea  |
Ya, not a good idea, but not surprising that a vet would recommend it. Much better would be some fish oil (preferably sardine/anchovy, in capsules rather than liquid - stays fresher longer).
Quote:
Originally Posted by Muttflea
The canned food Nanuk prefers is Friskies.... ya ya I know!! I can't be feeding him anything worse - but he won't eat anything else!
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Actually there are indeed way worse things to feed, like dry food for example. Some of the Friskies flavours aren't even that bad for a CRF kitty because they're fairly low in phosphorus. Here is link to a chart listing the phosphorus levels of some popular canned foods:
http://binkyspage.tripod.com/CanFoodNew.html You want to try to keep the amount under about 200mg per 100 cal. This is a quick list of the good ones:
Fine Cuts with Chicken in Gravy
Seared Filets with Turkey and Giblets
Special Diet Sliced Chicken in Gravy Dinner
Special Diet Turkey and Giblets Dinner
Special Diet with Salmon
Quote:
Originally Posted by Muttflea
I can *sometimes* get him to eat better quality food if it's mixed with Friskies.
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That's a good place to start. You might have to go really slowly, mixing only a tsp of the higher quality stuff with the Friskies and over the course of many days, even weeks, increasing the proportion. But the main thing is that Nanuk eat, so even if it's Friskies, that's better than nothing. You may eventually need to add a phosphorus binder if his blood phosphorus levels climb, but you can cross that road when you get there. A good way to get more quality protein into Nanuk is to finely chop some cooked egg whites (start small) and mix it well into his food. Egg whites are an excellent, easily digestible source of low-phosphorus protein (just make sure they're cooked).
For the constipation, some other options to consider are slippery elm bark powder or a few drops of aloe vera juice (but make sure it isn't preserved with sodium benzoate). Adding lots of extra water to Nanuk's food is also a good idea.